Graffiti in the rundown Athens neighborhood of Psiri depicts a woman clutching a sack of euros, a golden halo on her head and the title, "40 Years of Debt-ocracy." The street artist goes by the tag Bleeps.gr.

Sylvia PoggioliNPR

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Originally published on June 16, 2012 6:53 pm

Debt-burdened Greeks go to the polls Sunday to choose between an establishment party, and continuing harsh austerity measures, or a leftist party that vows to replace the current bailout deal with less punishing conditions.

But many Greeks are aware that whatever the outcome, they face years of hardship in a rapidly unraveling society.

A recent TV news report on medicine shortages illustrated the anguish rippling through the country. The piercing screams of a woman in a pharmacy can be heard as she shouts, "Where am I going to find my medication?"

Her plight struck a chord in a country where the government can no longer pay for drugs, including vital cancer and diabetes medicines. The health system is crumbling, and hospitals lack basic staff, equipment and supplies.

In its fifth year of recession, the economy slumped by 6.5 percent just in the first quarter of this year. Latest data show unemployment rates at record highs — almost 53 percent among the young.

The worsening economic crisis takes a devastating toll.

"It is ruined the society, it is bombed," says George Malouchos, a commentator for the daily newspaper To Vima. "It doesn't know where to go, how to go, what to do, what is the solution, if there is a solution. Greeks have despaired."

A drive through Athens is a tour through a new art form: crisis graffiti reflecting the frustration and anger of an increasingly powerless people. Nothing's spared — the eyes of a statue of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, are spray-painted with a black blindfold.

In the rundown Psiri neighborhood, graffiti depicts a woman clutching a sack of euros, a golden halo on her head and the title, "40 Years of Debt-ocracy." The street artist goes by the tag Bleeps.gr. His works are allegories of the effects of the crisis on ordinary lives.

One — a female figure with a disability — was inspired by the TV show Greece's Next Top Model.

"She misses one leg under the knee and it's replaced with a wooden leg," he says. "She is doing the catwalk. Next to it I wrote, 'Greece Next Economic Model,' which is an ironic comment of what was to happen because I did it a year ago."

Greeks feel led astray by their politicians and besieged by EU leaders, especially Germany's Angela Merkel who, many claim, treats Greece as a rogue state, an enemy and no longer a partner in need.

Many Greeks turn to mythology to interpret the present.

Novelist Vassilis Danellis wrote a parable based on the Euripides play Iphigenia in Aulis.

In the original, King Agamemnon, leader of the Greek fleet about to set sail for Troy, is required to sacrifice his daughter Iphigeniato placate the wrath of the gods. Danellis says that in his version, "Merkel is Agamemnon, the leader of European Union, who decides to sacrifice Greece in order to contain the wrath of markets."

Fear of Greece's sacrificial expulsion from the eurozone has been dubbed by the media the "Iphigeniasyndrome." Other myths are also invoked: the austerity package as "Pandora's Box" and the "Rape of Europa," not by Zeus but by the gods of money.

Commentator Malouchos zeroes in on the key victims. "The heart of the Greek middle class is dying," he says. "When you don't have a middle class, you don't have democracy. You have nothing."

Danellis says the outcome of the current Greek drama is still unknown and whether the gods will spare it from ending as a tragedy.

"Who is going to be the deus ex machina? This is the question," he says. "We don't know yet, because we have seen half of the play; the ending is open."

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Greeks go to the polls tomorrow. They will choose either establishment party and continuing austerity policies or a leftist party that vows to replace the current bailout deal with less punishing conditions. But as NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports, many Greeks are aware that whatever the outcome, they face years of hardship in a rapidly unraveling society.

SYLVIA POGGIOLI, BYLINE: A recent TV news report on shortages of medicines illustrated the anguish rippling through the country. A woman in a pharmacy screams, where am I going to find my medication? Her plight struck a chord in a country where the government can no longer pay for drugs, including vital cancer and diabetes medicines. The health system is crumbling. Hospitals lack basic staff, equipment and supplies.

In its fifth year of recession, the economy slumped by 6.5 percent just in the first quarter. Latest data show unemployment rates at record highs, almost 53 percent among the young. The worsening economic crisis takes a devastating toll.

GEORGE MALOUCHOS: It is ruined, the society. It is bombed.

POGGIOLI: George Malouchos is a commentator for the daily To Vima.

MALOUCHOS: It doesn't know where to go, how to go, where to do, what is the solution, if there is a solution. Greeks have despaired.

POGGIOLI: Desperation is clearly visible on Athens streets. Shop after shop is shuttered. In just 2011, 68,000 small businesses closed down and bankruptcies are gathering pace. A drive through Athens is a tour through a new art form, crisis graffiti, reflecting the frustration and anger of an increasingly powerless people. Nothing spared, the eyes of a statue of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, spray-painted with a black blindfold.

In the rundown Psirri neighborhood, the street artist that goes by the tag, Bleeps.gr, paints allegories of the effects of the crisis on ordinary lives. One's inspired by the TV show "Greece's Next Top Model," a female figure with a disability.

BLEEPS.GR: She's missing one leg under the knee and it's replaced with a wooden leg and she's doing the catwalk. And next to it I wrote, "Greece's Next Economic Model," which is an ironic comment of what was to happen because I did it a year ago.

POGGIOLI: Greeks feel led astray by their politicians and besieged by EU leaders, especially Germany's Angela Merkel, who many claim treats Greece as a rogue state, an enemy and no longer a partner in need. Many Greeks turn to mythology to interpret the present. Novelist Vassilis Danellis wrote a parable based on the Euripides play, "Iphigenia In Aulis."

In the original, King Agamemnon, leader of the Greek fleet about to set sail for Troy, is required to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to placate the wrath of the gods. In Danellis' version...

VASSILIS DANELLIS: Merkel is Agamemnon, the leader of European Union, who decides to sacrifice Greece in order to contain the wrath of market.

POGGIOLI: The wrath of the market and fear of Greece's sacrificial expulsion from the eurozone have been dubbed by the media, the Iphigenia Syndrome. Other myths are invoked. The austerity package is Pandora's Box and the Rape of Europa, this time not by Zeus, but by the gods of money. Commentator Malouchos zeroes in on the key victim.

MALOUCHOS: The heart of the Greek middle class is dying. When you don't have a middle class, you don't have democracy. You have nothing.

POGGIOLI: Novelist Danellis says the outcome of the current Greek drama is still unknown and whether the gods will spare it from ending as tragedy.

DANELLIS: Who is going to be the deus ex machina? This is the question. We don't know yet because we have seen the half of the play. The ending is open.